Poe-try in motion

Toronto: Unless Toronto can convincingly and affordably stand in for 19th century Maryland, Raven, the first in-house feature by local prodco Pebblehut, may shoot in Manitoba or the U.S. when it goes to camera in 2005.

‘I hate to say it, but this is where I have to take off my Toronto-centric hat and put on my producer hat,’ says vice-president Susan Murdoch.

The company is expanding from its service production roots (Veritas) and has three of its own features in late development. Based on the non-fiction book Midnight Dreary: The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allen Poe, Raven recounts the events leading to the famed author’s end in 1811, speculating that he was murdered. Suzette Couture (Choice) has reworked it as a drama. Murdoch, who produces with Pebblehut’s Deborah Nathan, expects the art-house pic to cost about US$15 million and is looking for a boutique distributor.

Murdoch and Nathan are also moving forward on A Violent Act and Frozen. Copro’d with the U.K.’s Peter Crane (The Passion of Ayn Rand) and written by Trevor Bowen (Trial by Fire), Violent is about a retired judge wrestling with his past, based on a novel by Rosemary Hubert. Steve DiMarco (Hurt, Anonymous) will direct, perhaps in late 2005 or ’06 on a US$5-million to US$10-million budget.

Frozen, scripted by Richard Oleksiak, recounts the search for a lost Arctic expedition and will need slightly more cash, maybe even a copro partner, to cover FX and action, says Murdoch. Sean Davidson

It’s alive!

Vancouver: Artifex Studios of Vancouver has breathed life into a title character of Gargoyles, a low-budget video feature produced by Vancouver’s Michael Derbas of Avrio Filmworks and L.A.-based Cinetel Films for Lions Gate Entertainment.

Artifex modeled and animated the ‘hero’ of the film and composited the gargoyle into more than 120 shots. Some of the shots involved the creation of computer-generated baby gargoyles and gargoyle eggs, as well as digital matte painting and set extension. Maya was used for all 3D modeling and animation, while eyeon Software Digital Fusion and Adobe After Effects were used for compositing.

Gargoyles tells the story of two CIA agents who discover a mythical creature wreaking havoc in Bucharest, Romania. Ian Edwards